Using the Behavioural Regulation in an Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ–2) in Central and Eastern Europe: Evidence of Reliability, Sociocultural Background, and the Effect on Sports Activity

Abstract

The factors influencing sports motivation create a complex system, integrating internal drivers, such as the love of sport and the need for competence, and external segments, such as the environment, institutions, or the media. In our research, we examined the sports motivation of students studying in higher educational institutions in five countries (Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine) using the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ–2). This research aims to explore the socioeconomic and institutional factors influencing students’ sports motivation and the effect of sociocultural, demographical, motivational, and societal factors on the frequency of participating in sports. Based on factor analysis, instead of the original five factors, three factors could be detected in the sample: intrinsic and identified motivation, introjected motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Based on the results, higher social status facilitates intrinsic motivation, while lower socioeconomic status facilitates extrinsic motivation and amotivation. The strongest effect is exerted by individual variables, of which intrinsic and identified motivation support regular physical activity as a significant factor among students in all countries. This can also be seen in the frequency of sporting activities, as the highest frequency of sports activity was detected among people with high intrinsic motivation.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Impediment or Opportunity? Considerations Regarding the Physical-Health Impact and Well-Being among Romanian University Students

“…As other important studies also show, students' motivation is influenced by various factors, such as intrinsic and identified motivation, introjected motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation [47]. This is caused by many external factors but can be combated by PE teachers and by PA being carried out in the universities.…”

Sport Motivation from the Perspective of Health, Institutional Embeddedness and Academic Persistence among Higher Educational Students

“…Academic persistence has a positive effect on intrinsic motivation, i.e., commitment to studies increases intrinsic motivation to pursue sports, while its effect on introjected regulation is negative. Fundamentally, the relationships between sport participation and academic performance show an ambivalent pattern, which depends on the level of the student’s participation in sport [ 18 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 51 ]. Competitive and elite athletes have different sport motivational elements such as attitudes towards learning, and the need for study-related knowledge may also differ.…”

“…We aimed to test our hypotheses based on the validation of an instrument (BREQ-2) [ 45 ] that has not been used in Hungary yet. Since our main aim was to examine factors influencing sport motivation, other intra- and interpersonal and environmental factors were treated separately (see Section 2.2 ).…”

Correction: Kovács, K.; Kovács, K.E. Using the Behavioural Regulation in an Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ–2) in Central and Eastern Europe: Evidence of Reliability, Sociocultural Background, and the Effect on Sports Activity. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 11834

“…In the original publication [1], funding from the "University of Debrecen Faculty of Humanities Scholarly Fund" to "Klára Kovács and Karolina Eszter Kovács" was not included. Thus, the correct Funding statement is the following:…”